What's the Deal: Declutter and donate your household items

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Summer is a great time to get organized and we have some great ideas on how to get rid of all that stuff you don't need.

This is great incentive to finally get all that excess stuff out of your house and into the hands of someone who could really use it. Our thanks to Checkbook Magazine for these terrific ideas.

First - if you're looking to get rid of just about anything, check out FreeCycle.org.

"You know, it's connecting people who want to get rid of stuff with people who want to get stuff for free," said Kevin Brasler from Checkbook Magazine.

If you have specific items to donate or recycle, here are some good options.

The Lions Club sorts, separates, and re-purposes eyeglasses for the needy. InstrumentsInTheCloud.org donates instruments to classrooms across the country.

If you've got an old tennis racket or other equipment lying around,go to Play It Again Sports. It operates sporting-goods consignment stores across the country and even pays cash up front!

You can donate your books to a Little Free Library in your community.

"Really, kind of tiny birdhouse size libraries available where people can pick up books for free," said Brasler.

You can also donate to BooksForSoldiers, which gives free books to active-duty military members.

And if your baby has grown out of a certain diaper size and you have loads of extra, there's the National Diaper Bank Network.

And here's one of my favorite websites, Earth911.com.

"And it's just this big database - where to take what: used car batteries, old solvents, old oil for your lawnmower," said Brasler.

Check out Toys For Tots to find drop-off spots to donate new and gently used toys. And if you've got boxes or cans of food, those items can be donated to food banks. FeedingAmerica.org lists more than 200 of them.

Checkbook Magazine has many more ideas on how to get rid of stuff.

In fact, it's put together a guide from A to Z, where to take everything from Apples cores to Zillions of cups.

And for a limited time, it's giving our 6abc viewers free access to the guide.

To read the full article from Checkbook Magazine, CLICK HERE.

----------

Send a breaking news alert
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc apps